Strip guide for shoe fastening machines



June 15, 1954 L. s. CHENEY 2,681,023

STRIP GUIDE FOR sues, FASTENING MACHINES Filed Aug. 7, 1951 Inventor Leonard 6 Cheney Patented June 15, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STRIP GUIDE FOR SHOE FASTENING MACHINES Application August 7, 1951, Serial No. 240,671

Claims priority, application Great Britain September 26, 1950 2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in binding strip guides for use with sewing or other fastening machines. For example the invention will be hereinafter described with reference to guides for directing platform covers or wrappers in the manufacture of shoes simulating socalled slip-lasted shoes, to the operating point in a sewing machine by which the cover is attached to other portions of a shoe.

In following certain methods of shoemaking a highly flexible platform cover or wrapper strip commonly employed, one or two inches in width, is sewn to the margin of the upper and a sole member, either in the form of a sock lining or leather sole, by means of a curved-needle machine. Such a machine may be similar to that disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,861,653, granted June 7, 1932 upon application of A. Bates. The platform cover is turned down to cover the edges of the sole member and the margin of the platform cover is then turned inwardly beneath the platform and secured thereto after which an outsole is attached.

In the manufacture of shoes of this kind the platform cover may be directed into proper position to be sewn to the shoe by a guide having a slot through which the platform cover passes. Since it is important that one edge of the platform cover shall occupy a predetermined relation to the needle of the sewing machine, the guide slot is made of the same overall length as the width of the cover, the edges of the cover engaging the ends of the slot.

When the platform cover material is relatively flimsy of considerable width it has been found that it puckers or bunches in a widthwise direction so that the edge which it is desired to locate accurately with respect to the sewing point may move away from the end of the slot and direct the strip material into an operating point of a sewing or other fastening machine, by the use of which guide the diiiiculties above referred to are substantially reduced or avoided entirely. In the illustrated form of the invention there is provided a machine for uniting the marginal por- Further- I tions of a shoe upper, a sole member and a cover strip, the machine being equipped with fastening devices, a work support, a presser foot and a guide formed with an abutment to engage one edge of the strip while directing it into the path of the fastening devices, in which the guide is formed with a pair of strip engaging and bending rails disposed with respect to the line of travel of the strip through the guide at an inclination towards the point of operation of the fastening devices. As hereinafter described the rails form the sides of a slit defining a plane disposed at a substantial angle with a strip guiding slot in the guide, the slit being inclined toward the abutment in the guide. The strip is drawn as it passes through the guide transversely to the direction of strip travel by the inclination of the slit with a frictional action as the strip is pressed edgewise against the abutment at the end of the uide.

With these and other features in view, as here inafter described and claimed, the present invention will be more readily understood and the ad vantages will be rendered more apparent from a consideration of the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a detail view in front elevation of a guide for a sewing machine embodying the features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side View of the guide of Fig. 1 illustrating the manner of operation on the parts of a shoe shown in section; and

Fig. 3 is a plan View showing the guide of Figs. 1 and 2 as applied to an outsole shoe sewing machine.

The machine embodying the invention is a curved needle lockstitch shoe outsole sewing machine intended to operate upon the parts of a shoe including an outfianged upper a platform sole member 2 and a platform wrapper or cover strip 3. The platform cover or wrapper strip 3 is directed into the sewing point without the necessity of continued manipulation by the operator through a guide of especially advantageous and effective construction.

The illustrative guide is shown in the drawings as being secured to or formed integrally with a work table 4 for a stitching machine of the type above referred to, having a work supporting surface E, and a passage 5 through which the curved needle 5 of the machine operates. To clamp the work during stitch formation the work support has cooperating with it a presser foot ii! of the usual construction and mode of operation. An

example of a machine of the same type is shown in the patent above referred to. The guide proper is composed of strip sheet metal bent with parallel walls to form an elongated slot of inverted L shape seen in Figs. 1 and 2 with its walls extending toward the sewing point in the machine and an end wall or internal abutment 8 at the upper end of the slot by which one edge of the strip is arranged to be guided into the sewing point. A front wall 5 of the guide is provided with a slit Ii (Fig. 1) having a pair of strip gripping and bending side rails l2 and I3 integral with the guide and formed by the edges of the front wall which bound the slit. The strip travels between the rails and the slit is of such a width that the rails lightly grip the material of the strip, as it travels through the guide, the gripping and bending occurring at a locality spaced somewhat inwardly of that edge of the strip which it is desired to locate accurately with respect to the sewing point. A widthwise bending action of the side rails is obtained by arranging the rails at opposite sides of a plane passing through the slit at a substantial angle to the slot for the strip inside the guide. Fig. 2 shows how the strip is bent widthwise by the slit in the guide. The frictional grip exerted on the strip by the side rails l2 and [3 of the slit H restrains the edge of the strip from moving away from the abutment 8.

To draw the strip laterally toward the abutment 8 the slit II is arranged with respect to the direction of travel of the strip through the guide at an inclination upwardly and toward the point of operation of the needle and toward the abutment B, the angle of inclination being of the order of 10 to the direction of travel of the strip during sewing operations as seen in Fig. 1. As the strip slides over the lower side rail l3 of the slit I I it is urged upwardly due to the upward inclination of that side rail and the force exerted tends constantly to urge the upper edge of the strip against the strip-guiding portion of the guide formed by the abutment 8, thus maintaining the strip in correct location for the sewing operation.

While the invention has been herein described with reference to guiding a platform cover strip into position for attachment to an upper by means of a sewing machine it is to be appreciated that the utility of the invention is not limited to this particular operation but may find application to the guiding of strip material generally in any operation in which it is desired accurately to locate one edge of a flexible strip with respect to an operating point. The guide is eifective in its action over a wide range of platform wrapper or cover strip materials on account of the angular arrangement of the plane of the slit II with respect to the adjacent portion of the strip in the guide. With the angular arrangement of the slit the strip is bent as it is carried through the slot and the resistance offered by the strip against widthwise bending is a direct measure of the lateral drawing force applied to the strip in crowding it against the abutment 8 which acts in directing the edge of the strip. Thus, for a heavy stifi strip greater lateral drawing force will be applied to the strip and with light flexible strip material a much lighter drawing force will be applied. For this reason the lighter more flexible strip will not be puckered and the heavier stiffer strip will be forced laterally with the proper edge pressure against the abutment. Such an arrangement is particularly advantageous when it is desired to employ a guide having an acute angle flange bent, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The lateral drawing force in this case is sufficient to overcome the resistance offered by the formation of the flange and acts to bring the strip into conformity with the angle between the outflanged portion of the upper I and the bulging side thereof.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated and a particular embodiment having been described what is claimed is:

1. A machine for uniting the marginal portions of a shoe upper, a sole member and a cover strip, having fastening devices, work clamping devices comprising a work support and a presser foot and a sheet metal guide secured to one of the work clamping devices and provided with parallel side walls bent to form an elongated slot and an internal abutment at one end of the slot to engage one edge of the strip and to direct it into the path of the fastening devices, in combination with means acting in advance of the point of operation of the fastening devices to draw the strip against the abutment in the guide, comprising a slit in one wall of the slot, the edges of the wall bounding the slit forming a pair of strip gripping and bending rails integral with the guide and inclined in the guide toward the abutment with respect to the line of travel of the strip through the guide to the point of operation of the fastening devices.

2. A machine for sewing the marginal portions of a shoe upper, a sole member and a cover strip, having stitch forming devices including a needle, a work support, a presser foot and a guide on the work support formed with a strip guiding slot and an internal abutment at one end of the slot to engage one edge of the strip to direct it into the path of the stitch forming devices, in combination with means acting in advance of the point of operation of the stitch forming devices to draw the strip against the abutment in the guide, comprising a pair of strip gripping and bending rails integral with and formed by the edges of a slit in the guide, which slit defines a plane disposed at a substantial angle with the strip slot inside the guide, said rails being in clined toward the abutment with respect to the line of travel of the strip through the guide toward the point of operation of the stitch forming devices.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 644,634 Pittrofi Mar. 6, 1900 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 107,384 Switzerland Jan. 16, 1925 

